Hermione and the Horcrux
by Psycho-Stories-Unlimited
Summary: We watched as Harry battled for his life against the Riddle in the diary, and then as Ron stood off against the piece of Riddle in the locket. But how did Hermione do? Did the most innocent-looking of the horcruxes in fact be one of the most dangerous?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first HP fic :D! **

**We know both Harry and Ron had to fight their fears and get past the cursed fragments of the Dark Lord's soul… but what about Herminie? (this fic is POV style) **

Our footsteps echo down the dark passageways, traveling through the halls that I haven't seen in months, everything is almost like a dream. There is the yellow glow of torches along the walls and the pearly light of the moon streaming through the windows. And the normal stillness of the castle is broken by the dull roar of students heading toward the exit.

Yet Ron and I walk through as though it was just another day of class; and just like any other day I might have just needed to go in the girls' lavatory for a second.

Well, not exactly, normally I would avoid this lavatory like the plague, especially now that Ron proposed his plan; the plan to destroy the Horcrux, the very Horcrux that was stowed safely in the magically expanded beaded bag, which I had tucked in my coat pocket.

On any normal day Moaning Myrtle would be in there, weeping bitterly at some travesty (real or imagined) that had befallen her.

On any other day, I wouldn't even be walking here in the dead of night, (That was more Harry's territory)

On any NORMAL day, You Know Who wouldn't be threatening Hogwarts with Death Eaters pounding at our gates.

And I especially wouldn't be holding the key to destroying you know who in my hands. In a cup no less, of course, this wasn't your average cup, this wasn't any normal day; these weren't any normal circumstances. Normality had ended the day I joined this unlikely pair.

We entered the lavatory; ignoring the "Out of Order" sign as usual.

"Here we are," says Ron, gesturing to one of the taps set along the wall. It seems even older and rustier than the others and Ron begins tilting his head, as though looking for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked, stepping to get a closer look at the dingy tap.

"Not sure," says Ron, "Harry looked around here for a while and then he found- Ah hah!"

"What?" I ask,

"Look, can't you see it?"

I leaned forward and saw something scratched into the side of the tap, something that looked like a small snake.

"Good job Ron!" I said "Now how do we-"

A horrible hissing rasping sound filled the room and I whirled to stare around, and my eyes landed on Ron. He grinned sheepishly, "Sorry," he said, "I can't really speak snake like Harry can but I thought I'd give it a shot…"

"Uh… well… I guess if that's how Harry did it last time, I guess we don't have much of a choice." I said.

Ron cleared his throat again and began to make all manner of noises,

The few times I had heard Harry speak in that strange sibilant language, it sent chills up my spine. The language seemed cold and slimy and wrong. It was no wonder the other students had reacted the way they had when he had first spoken that way at the Dueling Club so long ago.

Ron, on the other hand sounded like he was choking on a chocolate frog and couldn't help but smile despite the grim circumstances, and I was about to tell him he was making a right fool of himself, but the smile died on my lips when suddenly one cold slithering syllable escaped his lips, then another.

Just for a moment, the Horcrux in my pocket burned white hot. I didn't know how it was possible to feel it through the beaded bag, and I tried to stifle a small shriek of pain.

Ron didn't seem to hear me. He barked out a phrase and suddenly the tap began to sink back into the wall, leaving an opening wide enough for a man to slide through.

"Hay!" Ron said excitedly, "I did it! Look Hermione!" He stopped and must have seen the stricken look on my face.

"Hay," he said, softer this time, "It's fine; I was scared stiff last time I went in there too. Come on, we can't leave the others waiting."

He stepped into the tunnel and slid down; I paused for a second longer, then straightened and slid forward into the mouth of the tunnel.

We slid down a pipe that seemed to go down for miles, Both of us had our wands lit so we wouldn't lose each other. There was no way to slow down, and I worried that the slide would land abruptly, I could see Ron as a vague shape in front of me, and suddenly I felt the slide start to level out.

Ron landed neatly at the bottom, but suddenly I felt myself speed up for no reason, I shot off the end of the slide, and skid painfully across the rough stone floor, until I hit a wall on the far side, my wand went out, and I lay there, stunned.

"What the?" said Ron, and he bent to pick something up,

The Horcrux, but how could it have fallen out? I looked around to see if anything else had fallen out of the bag, there was nothing else scattered around, and the bag remained firmly closed.

"Hermione?" he called, moving the beam from his wand around. It landed on me and he ran over.

He helped me stand up, and I wobbled a little,

"Better not lose this," Said Ron, shoving the Horcrux back into my hands, I didn't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me, but for a moment I thought I saw a twisted reflection mirrored in the surface of the cup. A handsome reflection that suddenly became twisted, snake-like, with a malicious sneer.

"Ron, I don't think-" I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking, but Ron had already started moving forward, deeper into the cave. I had no choice but to go along with him, and, sighing, I put the cup into the beaded bag.

We came to what looked like a dead end where a huge rock fall had blocked most of the path leading onward.

"This is as far as I got last time," said Ron, "When Lockheart tried to get read of our memories." He grinned at the memory, "The fool."

I looked at Ron sideways, "What?"

"Nothing," Said Ron, "Come on, we need to get some of this rock out of the way,"

I looked at the heavy rocks, wondering which part would be safest to move, seeing as we didn't want the entire lot to come crashing around our ears.

Ron raised his wand, but I put my hand out,

"Let me try." I said, raising my own wand getting ready to begin to move the rocks, trying to make an opening big enough for both of us to squeeze through,

"Here," Said Ron, also shifting one of the rocks above the hole, "This'll help steady it."

I stared uneasily at the hole, but it seemed stable enough,

Ron climbed in first, and called to me, I began to wriggle my way through the hole. When I was about half way through I heard a terrifying grinding of rock against rock and looked up in time to see the bolder that was hanging over me begin to crash downward!

If Ron hadn't been there to pull me the rest of the way through, I might have been smashed under the huge rock that was now blocking our way through. It was a near thing though, as I was climbing through, I heard the rock begin to give way, and I looked to see Ron's face, first with what looked like a sneer of triumph, and then a look of dawning horror. He threw himself forward, and wrenched me the rest of the way through.

I was showered with sharp shards of rock. I picked myself up, again, feeling something warm and sticky on my face, but I was thankful to be alive. I looked up, ready to thank Ron, and watched, with a twinge of surprise as he stood up and dusted himself off, he didn't seem to have been hurt by the rock fall, in fact, he didn't seem to have a speck of dust on him.

"What?" He said, watching me stare at him

"The- There's not a mark on you." I said weakly

"You're not as used to this as me and Harry are." Said Ron, in what I guess he thought was a reassuring voice, though in fact it sounded almost mocking "You've almost never had to deal with as much pain as me and Harry have. We're probably just stronger that way."

I should have felt anger and resentment at this, but the only emotion that ran through me was fear.

It scared me, what if I really was weaker? Would I be able to survive? I looked around again, made sure the bag was still safely in my pocket, and took a few trembling steps forward, hoping with all of my heart to be rid of this cursed object that held the piece of a cursed soul. And if we both died here, then there wouldn't be hope for Harry, or anybody out there on the surface.

_No hope…._ A voice seemed to hiss in my ear, and I repressed a shudder as we continued to walk down the dark passageway.


	2. Chapter 2

The passage seemed to go on for ages and ages.

There were other smaller passages leading off the main tunnel but we stuck to the path ahead of us, which was the widest. Perhaps it was the horcrux, but I felt a mounting sense of unease as we walked deeper through the underground passageways.

Each sigh of the air through the tunnels sounded like sibilant whispers, and I couldn't help but flinch at the sound of rock settling above us. I could only imagine how a younger Harry felt, walking through these passages, knowing that an ancient and powerful monster was sneaking around, waiting to strike.

I expected Ron to say something about the distinctly creepy aura that this place was giving off, but he didn't say a word. He didn't seem to notice anything around him, he simply kept walking. I moved the beam of my wand so that it shone a little more on Ron.

It may have just been a trick of the light, but he looked slightly pale and his eyes glittered feverishly.

"Are you alright?" I asked, still keeping some of the beam of light focused on him.

He seemed to come out of a deep reverie, and he looked around at me. "Oh… yeah," He said vaguely,

"If you're sure." I said, looking sideways at him, "It can't be much farther now…"

We walked in silence for another few minutes before I heard Ron speak again.

"Hermione?" he said quietly.

"Yeah?" I said, staring up at him.

"You should turn back."

"Huh? What do you mean I should turn back? Wasn't this Your Idea in the first place? Didn't you say _I _had to be the one to destroy this thing?"

"Yeah but-" I saw his face screw up, as if he was trying to get something out there.

"This- this doesn't feel right," he said, looking at me, "I mean, I feel ok… better than ok… more ok than I've been in a long time but-" he stopped, still trying to find the words to fit what he was feeling "But that's what feels so wrong. It almost seems like _you're_ the one who doesn't feel right"

He stared down at me, "Hermione, I think I should be the one to get rid of the horcrux, I feel like I'm strong enough to get rid of this one too." And he held out his hand, "I'll take it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was Ron really telling me that he was more qualified to get rid of one of these final horcurxes all by himself? What on earth was he playing at?

"What are you saying Ron? Have you gone completely mad? We're here to destroy the horcrux! Not to… to prove how powerful we are or- or some stupid rubbish like that!" I yelled, waving an arm franticly, and holding the bag firmly with the other. "You know as well as I do that there is no clear way out of here. What if… If something happens to you…?" I let my words trail off.

Ron's face had changed, just for a moment, and I saw his hand twitch, as though he intended to get the horcrux weather I wanted to give it to him or not. I tensed, getting ready to react if he decided to make a move. He sighed and looked away from me

"You don't get it do you? This is my chance… Look closely at the horcrux Hermione, you won't know unless you see It." he said softly, looking at me intently. "Just look, look what this can give us, can give me."

At this point we had completely stopped.

He almost seemed normal again, his eyes almost seemed to be pleading with me. There was a longing, I had seen in them before, the need to be something more. To have some sort of wealth, some sort of notice, something to call his own.

"Please…" He said quietly,

I couldn't help it, and I felt my hands move, seemingly of their own volition to the beaded bag, slowly undoing the clasp. I reached in slowly, with no need to look or summon it, I felt the strangely warm metal of the cup brush past my hand almost eagerly.

I pulled it out slowly, looking at Ron the entire time. He was still as a statue. I held out Hufflepuff's cup to him, having no wish to hold it, feeling the metal growing uncomfortably warm in my hand, but he shook his head, "I- I can't… It's you who needs to see, to understand."

I did not look down, only continued to stare at Ron. "What… what am I supposed to see?" what could I possibly want to know from this cursed object? Tell me? What's logical about it? What's real?"

"It's…" Said Ron, "It's hard to explain, it's like something Harry had shown me a long time ago, only, more possible, you know. Like…" he let his words trail off, and I sighed. "Fine, I'm telling you, no good can come of this."

I looked down at the cup, it's ornate handles glittering in the light of my wand, the embossed badger in solid gold. That was real… All I saw was my reflection, a common girl, of common blood, full of brains but no power. Was _that_ real? Was that I was? All I would ever be? Plain old Hermione, always prepared but never ready. Always doing something and somehow doing nothing… Where was the pride, the response, the reaction, the confidence? All faded, gone, and I felt my will, my resolve slowly slipping away.

I always prided myself on being able to figure things out, in believing all that was rooted in true solid fact. But this… this was more than I could believe. Ron, loyal, but sometimes bumbling Ron, had made it through without so much as a scratch. Supposedly able to see something that I never could. I saw the picture begin to change, but I did not want to see any more.

The surge of fear and doubts that the simple image had brought up in me had shaken me up more than I'd realized, and I was ready to move on. I didn't want to know what else it would show me. For although my mind told me that this object was evil and would most certainly bring up negative emotions, my heart nearly ached at some of the truth behind those emotions. First among them was fear, fear for my life, for both of our lives. Doubt, what could I do? How would we get out of here? It was doubt of the worst kind, doubt in one's own abilities. That only made way for jealousy to sprout, what did Ron have that I did not. _He_ never had to work for _anything_ in his life. He runs off to god knows where and leaves me and Harry _stranded_. And all of a sudden, he shows up, pulls his little puppy dog best friend act with Harry and we go on a jolly old deathtrap adventure. And now, _now,_ he has _the nerve_ to have me risking _my_ life, nearly killing myself half a dozen times, to destroy a horcrux, and suddenly telling me I'm not worthy of the task, making me feel like a fool, and now, Oh yes _now_ he walks like he did all the work himself, strutting like he _owns the place._

"Go on," said Ron, "Just look closer- wait, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" I said shortly, not about to let myself be swept away so easily, and pushing roughly past Ron. I stuffed the cup back into the pocket of my coat, feeling my hands treble only slightly. I would be dammed if I would give up before finishing what I started, and I would be just as dammed if I let Ron take the lead. It may have been his plan to bring me down here. But it was my job to finish what we started.


	3. Chapter 3

I strode past Ron, with the barest hint of smug satisfaction at the dumbfounded look on his face.

Leave me behind would he? Well we'd just see about that.

"Hermione!" came Ron's voice from behind me but I paid it no heed.

Despite my newfound resolution, I was aware that if I stopped I might not be able to keep going. The passage seemed somewhat more menacing, the silence deeper and the shadows darker all alone in the tunnel.

Ron's voice had faded into silence and a slight shiver ran down my spine. Would he be able to find each other? How far was it to the chamber of secrets anyway-?

No sooner had this thought crossed my mind that I stopped dead, caught in the gaze of two giant stone snakes carved into a massive door. Their eyes, set with green emeralds glittered eerily in the light of my wand.

I pulled out the horcrux again, it seemed to glitter even more brightly than the eyes of the stone snakes, it was almost beautiful, looking closely at the intricate swirls and designs worked into the gleaming metal, it was almost hypnotizing, inviting me to stare and never stop staring. Moving forward seemed pointless… stupid really… why should I keep going forward into more death and darkness when I could just stay here in the silence… I would be safe, no Death Eaters, no Voldemort, no Harry, no Ron- the cup seemed to grow heavier in my hands, as though filling with my doubts, the words that buzzed through my head soon became nothing more than meaningless garble, and then just hissing whispers… whispers that suddenly became words with a hard poke to my arm

"Hermione? Come on. Hermione, come back…"

It was Ron, standing over me, shaking my shoulder as I swayed a little where I stood.

What had almost happened? The horcrux had come close to sucking me in, to making me forget why I was here and what I was fighting for.

Ron stared at me with a mixture of fear and confusion on his face, and what looked like a glint of triumph in his eyes. I blinked, No, surely not. Since when I opened them again Ron's face was still pale and he looked like he might be sick.

Sighing and closing my eyes I slumped to the floor, my brain seemed to have refused to take anymore. I felt hollow, empty.

"Come on Hermione." He said, "We can't just stop, we can't just stay there, we have to keep going. Open your eyes Hermione! Open your eyes… _Open..." _

The last word was a low hiss quickly followed by an almost inaudible rumbling.

It was enough to make me open my eyes in curiosity to see the doors of the Chamber of Secrets open at last.

Ron and I were silent, neither of us able to react to the overwhelming feeling of standing in a place that had remained nearly almost undisturbed for hundreds of years.

Why were we here again? What were we doing? Who were we to face this power, this overwhelming dark magic that had taken the lives and souls of countless people, what were we doing in this place where hope, friendship and love meant nothing and power… power was everything.

"You can still turn back", said Ron's unusually quiet voice next to me.

I shook my head, even as the Hufflepuff's cup seemed to grow heavier in my hands, I could not, would not be left behind, I would not be useless weight to be dragged around, and I would not run away.

Standing up, clutching the cup in one hand and my pride in the other, I walked into the chamber of secrets, Ron behind me, and the carved doors sealing us in with a hiss.

**Authors Note: Apologies for the long… LONG time without updating, I'm already well underway with the next chapter thank goodness. Should make for less of a gap between this and the next chapter, enjoy! **


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